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IL "BOOM"
Course Description:
Course Description:
This course aims to offer a broad view of the Italian cinema in its historical passage from the widely recognized Neorealist foundations to the great divide of the revolutionary Sixties, the culmination of its golden age. The modernization of Italian society, political changes, urbanization and the question of Italian identity, as reflected in the cinema of the 1960s, are the main topics of the course.
All of the films covered in this course explore crucial moments in the history of modern Italian society from various sociopolitical points of view. The writers and directors depict through diverse cinematic styles encounters between cultures, religions, social classes and genders.
The films lend themselves to enriching discussions about aesthetics, the evolution of Italian cinema, the influence on and comparison with cinema of other countries, and to cultural analysis of national identity, religion, ethnicity, gender and generational roles.
articLES:
articLES:
Selezione di articoli accademici in formato pdf:
1.1) Custom (in AA.VV. Modern Italy: Images and History of a National Identity. 1984)
1.3) Bondanella, Peter. The Films of Roberto Rossellini. 1993
1.4) Bondanella, Peter. A History of Italian Cinema. 2009
1.5) Gundle, Stephen. From Neo-Realism to Luci Rosse: Cinema, Politics, Society, 1945-85. London, 1990
1.6) Zavattini, Cesare. Alcune idee sul cinema. 1952
1.7) Bazin, André. Che cos'è il cinema?. 1958
3.1) Morreale, Emiliano. Così piangevano, Donzelli, 2011
3.2) Fotoromanzo (from S. Gundle)
4.3) Bondanella, Peter. I vitelloni. (in A History of Italian Cinema, 2009)
5.3) Ruozzi, Gino. Il boom economico
6.1) Morreale, Emiliano. La dolce vita. (in Cinema d’autore degli anni Sessanta. 2011)
7.1) Morreale, Emiliano, L'avventura. (in Cinema d'autore degli anni Sessanta. 2011)
7.2) Eco, Umberto. The Open Work. 1962
8.2) De Gaetano, Roberto. Il corpo e la maschera: il grottesco nel cinema italiano, Bulzoni, 1999
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Materiali utili
A) Gli incassi del cinema italiano
B) Mammarella, Giuseppe. Italy from Reconstruction to Decline, 2016
FilmS:
FilmS:
Roma città aperta (R. Rossellini, 1945)
Anna (A. Lattuada, 1951)
I figli di nessuno (R. Matarazzo, 1952)
I vitelloni (F. Fellini, 1953)
I soliti ignoti (M. Monicelli, 1958)
La dolce vita (F. Fellini, 1960)
The Magic of Fellini - a documentary (C. Piccini, 2001)
Otto e mezzo (F. Fellini, 1963)
L'avventura (M. Antonioni, 1960)
Il sorpasso (D. Risi, 1962)
I mostri (D. Risi, 1963)
Il Boom (V. De Sica, 1963)
La grande bellezza (P. Sorrentino, 2013)
WEEK 1
WEEK 1
Tuesday, October 6
Course introduction. Italian history after World War II. Important dates during this time. Constitution and Italian identity. Premises to notions such as realism, reality, Verismo, truth, verosimiglianza. Opposite ideas of cinema: Melies vs. Lumiere
Thursday, October 8
Neorealism: new beginnings or continuity? The director’s triad: Rossellini – De Sica – Visconti. Three interpretations of a historical moment. Gramsci’s inheritance in national culture: ethic-political function of Literature and Cinema.
This week's film:
Roma città aperta (Roberto Rossellini, 1945)
WEEK 2
WEEK 2
Tuesday, October 13
Class discussion on the film. André Bazin vs. Zavattini. Reading and analysing excerpts from Che cos’è il cinema (A. Bazin) and C. Zavattini’s texts. Neorealismo: from a chance for renewal to the critics’ sterile imposition. Fragments from La terra trema (L. Visconti, 1948) and L’uomo dalla croce (R. Rossellini, 1942).
Vittorio De Sica and Cesare Zavattini
Thursday, October 15
Anthology of cinema during the 1950s and trends. Slow (and false?) conciliation between the two Italys. The Church’s censorship and dogmatism of the engaged intellectuals. The Totò case, a genre of itself that confirms the predominance of comedy in these years.
Selection of clips from the films:
Guardie e ladri (Steno e Monicelli, 1951) Domenica d’agosto (Emmer, 1950), Don Camillo (Duvivier, 1952) and Totò a colori (Steno, 1952)
WEEK 3
WEEK 3
Tuesday, October 20
The Hollywood on the Tiber. When Hollywood moved to Rome. A new, pacific form of colonization. Emerging comedy, melodrama, crime drama: overlapping genres. The 50’s. History. Continuity with the past and signs of modernity. Fragments from Umberto D (V. De Sica. 1952). Starting over with family, melodrama, comedy, women as either sacrificial victims or cause for betrayal of family values.
Thursday, October 22
Musical-magazine, costume. Neorealismo rosa, end of Social Neorealism. Raffaello Matarazzo’s melodrama. 1950’s history. Watch I figli di nessuno (R. Matarazzo, 1952) and compare it to Lattuada's Anna. The classic narrative text.
This week's film:
Anna (Alberto Lattuada, 1951)
WEEK 4
WEEK 4
Tuesday, October 27
Group presentations on melodrama (comparison between I figli di nessuno and Anna)
Birth of an author. The Italian province, the dreams, the visions: the escape from his roots. Fellini accused of “betraying” Neorealism. I vitelloni as forerunner of: estrangement, comedy, uncertain/masked personalities. Formalist theory applied.
Thursday, October 29
Moraldo goes to town. I Vitelloni as starter of inspiration for of a new trend that will lead to the “Commedia all’italiana”. The off-screen, narrator’s voice in Fellini as in Scorsese.
I vitelloni: the dreams of five young adults from the province, their struggle for living the changing reality. The first big critical and commercial hit in Fellini's career, which brought him to the limelight of the Italoian and international cinema. Comedy and tragedy are included in the atmosphere of this film, so stylistically unique.
This week's film:
I vitelloni (Federico Fellini, 1953)
WEEK 5
WEEK 5
Tuesday, November 3
Quiz on readings and lectures. Class discussion.
The years of the Italian Economic Miracle (1958-1963) coincide with the huge success of Italian cinema. The numbers and the quality of Italian film productions are on the rise. Urbanization and industrialization.
Thursday, November 5
The beginning of a new genre: Comedy Italian Style. Regional identities. Socioeconomic roles of the next decades are formed. Tradition vs. revolution in Italy. Socioeconomic data demonstrate big changes. Gender roles remain tied to the past. The Commedia dell'arte.
WEEK 6
WEEK 6
Tuesday, November 10
Class discussion on film. From the Commedia dell’arte to the Comedy Italian Style. Integration into society.
Thursday, November 12
La dolce vita (Federico Fellini, 1960)
The masterpiece. Source of inspiration for many films to follow, iconic example for the Made in Italy. Became almost a brand. when we hear the expression dolce vita, we can only think of Italy, of Anita Ekberg bathing in the Fontana di Trevi, and Marcello Mastroianni's charm.
This Fellini's film (that won the Palm d'or at the Cannes Festival di Cannes, assigned by the jury presieded by the famous French writer George Simenon, the Oscar for Piero Gherardi's Costume Design and dozens of international awards) is more than 60 years old but still leaves its mark on contemporary fashion and culture. It is mentioned in all the lists of best films ever made and, in spite of the negative criticism received at the time of its release (together with requests of censorship cuts by the Catholic church) it still is in the top ten list of most watched Italian films from 1950 to now. At the time of the release of La dolce vita, Fellini was accused of being an atheist, a traitor, a terrorist. the legend is that, at the premiere of the film, a person approached the director to spit on him.
Written by Federico Fellini, with Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli and Brunello Rondi, photographed by Otello Martelli, accompanied by the great Nino Rota's music, it was shot during the spring and the summer of 1959 in the Cinecittà Studios and in some locations near Rome.
WEEK 7
WEEK 7
Tuesday, November 17
Oral presentations on La dolce vita
Thursday, November 19
L'avventura (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1960)
Fellini vs. Antonioni: two ways to understand cinema and art. Instinct vs. intellectualism. Painting vs. geometry. Symbolic use of space. Differences and ironies in the representation of women. The Church and the invasion of public space. Theories on the development of cinema. Comparisons with Rocco e i suoi fratelli (L. Visconti, 1960).
WEEK 8
WEEK 8
Tuesday, November 24
Discussion about the film. Difficult reading of the film. Completion of Antonioni's trilogy with L’eclisse (1962). Complete dissolution in the relationship between signifier and signified. From Antonioni’s signifying unit (mocked by W. Allen) to episodic film, a typical Italian case. From the short stories of the Decameron to those created by Cinecittà. Little comedies with major writers and actors. A genre to export. (scenes from Boccaccio ’70, 1962 and I mostri, 1963).
Thursday, November 26
Comedy as a first step towards the recognition of monstrous physical human features reflecting the moral decay of the average Italian. Comedy and (dis)integration of the individual in the new society. Suddenly morals, religion, politics, completely change.
This week's film:
Il sorpasso (Dino Risi, 1962)
WEEK 9
WEEK 9
Tuesday, December 1
Discussion on film. Documentary about the Italian economic boom. “Il sorpasso” as metaphor. Identity and comedy. Broken dreams. The s-boom. Separation of social classes and conflict. The miracle is already ending. The grotesque in parts of Divorzio all’italiana (P. Germi, 1961) and Signore & Signori (P. Germi, 1966).
Thursday, December 3
The focus is on a young, apparently simple woman: I Knew Her Well (Antonio Pietrangeli, 1965). Comedy has reached a point of no return. Society has irreparably changed and the Italian comedy genre confirms its power in representing contemporary reality better than any other. But with a very special style. In such a cynical society as the Italian sixties' society can be, women are transforming their role accordingly. This transformation is necessary for her survival. The other other option is to give up.
Io la conoscevo bene (A. Pietrangeli, 1965)
FINAL WEEK
FINAL WEEK
Thursday, December 10
Last lesson. Guided discussion about the film:
Io la conoscevo bene (A. Pietrangeli, 1965)
Review of the main topics we discussed during the course. Preparation for the final exam.
Tuesday, December 15
Final Exam
Required work and form of assessment:
The lectures focus on the films, writers/directors and historical periods, which will be analyzed in class. Students are expected to participate in the discussions. Weekly assignments include readings, screenings and essays. Each class begins with questions to cover and review the assignments. The ability to respond, keep up with the readings, hand in written work on time and actively participate in class is factored into the final grade. Quizzes, essays, presentations are based on screenings or assigned readings.
Attendance:
Attendance is mandatory. Only one absence will be tolerated. Additional absences due to illness must be justified by a doctor’s note. ½ point will be reduced from the final grade for every absence. If you cannot attend class, you will be expected to get information from your classmates about readings and assignments and to be prepared for the next class. Unjustified lateness will negatively affect your grade in class participation. NO MAKE UP EXAMS. If you miss the date and exam time you’ll receive 17/30 points only (18 is the lowest passing grade). These points will be factored in your final grade average.
Requirements :
A – Active participation; quizzes and weekly written assignments (response papers) or oral presentations based on film screenings and assigned readings; ability to understand and appropriately comment the films and readings presented in the course.
B – Final exam/project
Final grade: Participation in class discussion: 20%
Mid-Term test and and oral presentations: 40%
Final exam (split in two parts): 30% + 10%
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